University of California San Diego Philosophy Practice Exam

Locke argues that having the same soul or substance is not necessary to the continued identity of a person (unity of consciousness).Group of answer choicesTrue

False

Parfit claims that the Bundle Theory of the self is more defensible than the Ego Theory of the self.Group of answer choicesTrue

False

The Tao can be comprehended through reason.Group of answer choicesTrue

False

Emerson claims that nature is constantly changing.Group of answer choicesTrue

False

Sartre argues that “existence precedes essence.”Group of answer choicesTrue

False

In “A Dialogue with Death,” the term Brahman refers toGroup of answer choicesthe most ancient part of the Vedas

ultimate reality

a type of mediation

the path of wisdom

According to Hume, belief in substance or fixed identity results from:Group of answer choicesa mistaken use of mathematical reasoning

analogical reasoning about the soul

the tendency to overlook gradual changes in what is being observed

belief in God

According to de Beauvoir, women have been traditionally relegated to the role of theGroup of answer choicesessential

nonexistent

equal

Other

One of Locke’s beliefs that Berkeley rejects isGroup of answer choicesLocke’s belief in God.

Locke’s distinction between primary and secondary qualities.

Locke’s claim that reason is the source of all knowledge.

Locke’s distinction between simple and compound ideas

When Hume tries to theoretically justify matter of fact claims, he ends withGroup of answer choicesa vicious circle.

the fact of his own existence.

demonstrative reasoning.

an appeal to authority.

According to Zack, self-emancipation is a social activity that begins withGroup of answer choicesa recognition of rights.

a third-person judgment.

a positive self-valuation.

a denial of self.

Short Answer Questions: Select three questions from the following six questions to answer. Each answer should be at least 4-5 sentences in length. Each short answer response will be worth 2 points (total 6 points).

1. What, according to Descartes, are the essential differences between soul and body?
2. In the Buddhist Scriptures, the king asks the following question of Nagasena: “Does he who is born remain the same or become another?” How does Nagasena answer this question?
3. Carefully explain the following terms as they are used by Nietzsche: superman, last man, camel, lion, and child.
4. Why does Buddha introduce the parable of the arrow?
5. What does Locke mean by the term idea? From where are our ideas derived?
6. What, according to Leibniz, is a Monad? How is one Monad related to other Monads?

Essay Questions: Select two questions to answer. Each essay should be about 3 paragraphs in length. Each essay will be worth 4 points (total 8 points)

1. According to Skinner, what exactly does it mean to be a behaviorist? How does he argue that human freedom is an illusion?
2. In the “Myth of the Cave,” by Plato, how does the world outside the cave differ from the world within the cave?
3. Carefully explain two of the arguments that Descartes uses to undermine the reliability of sense experience, and two of the arguments that he uses to undermine the reliability of mathematical reasoning. What is Descartes’ ultimate purpose in formulating these arguments?
4. Explain carefully Locke’s distinction between primary and secondary qualities. What are Berkeley’s principal reasons for rejecting this distinction?
5. Compare and contrast what de Beauvoir says about sex or gender with what Zack says about race. How important is your sex or gender in determining who you are? How important is your race in determining who you are? Explain your answers.
6. What does Sartre mean when he says that we are “condemned to be free?” How does he describe the relationship between freedom and responsibility?